Attaining Beauty: Plastic Surgery

It seems that gurls who engage in plastic or cosmetic surgery are younger than ever and the types of surgeries they are having done range from breast augmentation to liposuction. It seems a little extreme but can we really blame gurls for wanting these procedures? I don’t think so. The pressures that gurls face today to meet social beauty expectations are growing exponentially. While for some, having a surgical procedure to correct a birth “defect” (such as a cleft lip) is crucial to their feeling comfortable in their own skin which is understandable. However, for relatively “average” gurls who do not have any visible defects, would you feel the same? Where do we draw the line for what “flaws” are acceptable reasons for turning to such surgeries?

It is quite clear that body image is connected to self esteem which is why we often support the use of surgery to correct “defects.” Does this mean that we should also support the use of surgery to correct female “flaws”? I would argue that society needs to be more accepting of several female body types and that we need to change social beauty expectations. Perhaps these so called birth “defects” that set others apart from “normal” society are more “Average” than we think. Do we need to expand our minds to become more accepting of people with these issues as well? What do you think?

While I cannot totally decide on whether I agree with correcting “defects” during youth, I do believe that gurls should not engage in plastic or cosmetic surgery if they are under the age of 18. Why? Well for one thing gurls bodies are still developing in their teenage years. Their weight and size will change over the course of adolescent development which means that being unhappy with something specific about your appearance at 14 may change by the time you hit 18. Many young gurls also do not consider the risks associated with cosmetic and plastic surgeries including complications, permanent damage and future costs.

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Many gurls who want to engage in these types of surgeries think that it will solve their problems and make them feel better of themselves but this is not the case, especially in our society. They will never achieve perfection, regardless of the surgeries that are available. When this is realized gurls will often become fixated on their other physical flaws. The problem is not with the way gurls look but rather, the problem is the way society teaches us to look at ourselves. Many gurls are turning to surgery rather than dealing with their real issues which may include; eating disorders, depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses.

While I don’t believe young gurls should have surgery until they have worked through any severe mental health issues or until they are fully developed, I do believe at the end of the day we can make the choice for ourselves. Even though we may understand why we are so hard on ourselves, we still may not want to endure the massive pressure from society to be perfect. In the end, there is no long term or short term solution to the problem of body dissatisfaction so the choice is going to be unique to every individual.